Dark Horse Comics.

Zhang Tianxi, the general manager, smiled and said to Liangtian Kenichi: "I'm sorry, Mr. Liangtian, Mr. Kang does not allow "Crayon Xiaoxin" to have any changes in the names of places and people. ”

Kenichi Ryota sighed: "The reason why Shueisha asked for the publication was to change the names of Japanese places and people to better integrate Crayon Shin-chan into the Japanese market, which can increase the sales of the manga, which is beneficial to both of us." ”

Zhang Tianxi still smiled as usual: "I know what Mr. Liangtian said, but I can't make the decision on this matter." ”

Kenichi Ryoda said, "In that case, let's move on to the rest." I hope that Shueisha can buy out the Japanese copyright of "Crayon Shin-chan", which will be more conducive to the promotion and operation in Japan. ”

The smile on Zhang Tianxi's face has not changed, and he said with a smile: "Mr. Liangtian, I already said yesterday that a buyout will definitely not work." ”

Ryoda Kenichi said: "I hope Manager Zhang can think about it again." ”

Zhang Tianxi smiled and before he could speak, his secretary suddenly pushed the door open and said, "Manager, Mr. Ye Yan from the Shogakukan and Mr. Aita from Studiodeen are here." ”

"Get out! Didn't you see me coming? I came in without knocking on the door, what kind of system," Zhang Tianxi gave the secretary a lesson, and then turned to Ryota Kenichi with a smile, "Mr. Ryota, I'm really sorry, my secretary is not very sensible." ”

As soon as Ryoda Ken heard the words of the elementary school hall, his face became a little unnatural.

More than 20 years later, Shueisha, Shogakukan, and Shirasensha merged to form a Hitotsubashi Publishing Group, but at this time, they still went their separate ways and competed. In terms of origins, Shogakukan has the longest history, and the Hakusensha was independent from Shueisha more than ten years ago. Shueisha, on the other hand, became independent from Shogakukan decades ago.

Kenichi Ryota said, "Mr. Zhang, our Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump is the largest manga magazine in Japan in terms of circulation, with a circulation of 5.16 million copies in the last issue. As long as "Ethereal Journey" or "Crayon Shin-chan" is serialized in this magazine for several issues, it can become famous and known to manga fans all over Japan. ”

Zhang Tianxi said with a smile: "But Shueisha's readership is mainly middle school students, and the audience of the Shogakukan is elementary school students, so I'm afraid the Shogakukan is more suitable for Crayon Shin-chan." ”

"But Shueisha is better suited to Ethereal Journey, isn't it?" Ryoda Kenichi said. In fact, the main purpose of his coming to Hong Kong is not only for "Crayon Xiaoxin", but also for "Ethereal Journey".

For Shueisha. It's the magnificence of "Ethereal Journey" that counts, and the book has already been published in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, causing quite a stir, which is why Shueisha has taken notice. As for "Crayon Xiaoxin", it was only learned about it after Kenichi Liangtian came to Hong Kong. It was a bonus.

The most popular fantasy novel in Japan at the moment is The Legend of the Galactic Heroes, just some time ago. Its author, Yoshiki Tanaka, wanted to comic "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes". The partners have already been agreed, and it is Tokuma Bookstore and Shogakukan.

In order to cope with the war, Shueisha will look for that kind of super fantasy manga everywhere, and as a result, "Ethereal Journey" suddenly fell into the eyes of Shueisha's top management.

Zhang Tianxi said with a smile: "Shueisha is indeed suitable for this kind of fantasy comics, and your society's "Dragon Ball" is selling very well now." ”

Speaking of "Dragon Ball", Kenichi Ryoda is a burst of pride. He said, "If your company is willing to hand over Crayon Shin-chan and Ethereal Journey to Shueisha, you will definitely receive the best results, and the manuscript fee and royalties will be provided in the form of celebrity treatment." ”

Zhang Tianxi was still smiling: "The serialization of the two comics can be handed over to your company, but the release of a single book." Dark Horse Comics will be in direct contact with publishers in Japan. ”

"That can't be!" Ryoda Kenichi immediately refused, and the release of a single book of popular manga was an important profit project for Shueisha.

"Then there's nothing to talk about." Zhang Tianxi said with a smile.

According to Kenichi Ryota, Dark Horse Comics can only earn a manuscript fee for weekly serialization and a small amount of royalties for a single book, and the majority of it is taken by Shueisha. If it was the previous time, Shueisha wanted to buy Hong Kong comics, then Hong Kong comic companies were willing to give it away, as long as it could make a name for itself in Japan, even if it was not popular in Japan, it could also be used as a gimmick to increase sales in Hong Kong.

But does Kang Jianfei care about that profit?

Apparently impossible.

Liangtian Kenichi persuaded for a while, but Zhang Tianxi did not let go at all, and he became quite dissatisfied in his heart, feeling that the Dark Horse Comics Company was too ignorant, and the cooperation from Shueisha was pushed back, which was simply unreasonable.

"In that case, Shueisha can only give up." Kenichi Ryoda said that Shueisha now has "Dragon Ball" and "Oolong Police Station" town stores, and it really doesn't have to be bought "Ethereal Journey".

Not long after Liangtian Kenyi went out, the secretary brought in Ye Yan Gu Zhi and Aida Liang.

"You two may be seated." Zhang Tianxi said.

Ye Yan Guzhi only fell in love with "Crayon Xiaoxin", and was not much interested in "Ethereal Journey", after shaking hands with Zhang Tianxi, he said: "Manager Zhang, the primary school hall is very interested in your company's "Crayon Xiaoxin", and I hope we can cooperate." ”

Zhang Tianxi asked, "What kind of cooperation method?" ”

"Now that it is serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday, Shogakukan will publish a single edition of Crayon Shin-chan in collaboration with Tokuma Shoten, and finally produce a Zuò anime in collaboration with Studiodeen, so we can definitely tap the potential of this manga to the extreme," said Hahiko. ”

Ryo Aida took the opportunity to speak: "Yes, Studiodeen is the company that produced "Doraemon", "Doraemon" is currently popular throughout Taiwan, and it will be broadcast in Hong Kong next month. ”

"Jingle Bell ......"

Zhang Tianxi was about to speak, when suddenly the phone on the desk rang, and he smiled apologetically: "I'm sorry, I'll answer the phone first." ”

"Please!" Ye Yan Guzhi said.

Zhang Tianxi picked up the phone: "Hey, Dark Horse Comics." ”

Kang Jianfei's voice came from the phone: "I'm Kang Jianfei, are you negotiating terms with the Japanese comic book agency now?" I've pushed it all to me, and I've found a partner on my side. ”

"Already have a partner? Ah, okay. Zhang Tianxi was stunned for a moment and immediately agreed, hung up the phone and said to Ye Yangu Zhi and Aida Liang, "I'm sorry, we have already found a Japanese partner." ”

Ye Yangu frowned and asked, "Is it Shueisha?" ”

Zhang Tianxi smiled: "Sorry, trade secrets. ”

……

At this moment, Kang Jianfei was in the office and smiled at a middle-aged man: "Mr. Kadokawa, do you want to have a cup of afternoon tea in Hong Kong?" ”

"Very happy." The short, thin middle-aged man said in fluent Chinese.

This thin man is Haruki Kadokawa, the president of Kadokawa Bookstore, who is a famous loser in Japan, and a well-known writer and director.

Today, the most profitable film company in Japan is Haruki Kadokawa's Kadokawa Films, and several of his own films are also considered excellent by Japanese audiences.

The comic partner Kang Jianfei said is the Kadokawa comic company that Haruki Kadokawa is about to establish, and the distribution of the manga single book will also be handed over to Kadokawa Bookstore to operate.

Of course, Haruki Kadokawa didn't come to buy comics, he accompanied his wife to Hong Kong for a trip this time, and by the way, he came to visit Hong Kong's famous international director Kang Jianfei.

DreamWorks is now the most profitable film company in Hong Kong, while Kadokawa Pictures is the most profitable film company in Japan, and there is a lot of room for the two companies to work together.

In other words, Haruki Kadokawa saw that Shochiku Pictures was distributing DreamWorks movies and making a lot of money at the box office, and wanted to steal business sideways.

The Peninsula Café.

Kang Jianfei drank black tea and exclaimed: "I didn't expect Mr. Kadokawa to speak Mandarin so well." ”

Haruki Kadokawa said with a smile: "I majored in literature at university, and knowing Chinese characters is only the basic, but if you want to experience the charm of ancient Chinese poetry more directly, you need to learn to speak Chinese." Although it has been abandoned for many years, I can still recite dozens of Tang and Song poems. ”

Kang Jianfei laughed self-deprecatingly: "That's really ashamed, I can't memorize more than 10 songs in full, and most of them have to see the previous sentence to think of the next sentence." ”

The sedan chair carried people, and Haruki Kadokawa praised: "Talent is not rote memorization of poetry, but I have studied most of Mr. Kang's movies." ”

Kang Jianfei said with a smile: "Mr. Kadokawa praised it falsely, compared to your "Love Story", my ones can only be regarded as commercial films. ”

Kang Jianfei's words are not sycophants, Haruki Kadokawa's "Love Story" directed two years ago also won the Japanese Academy Award, and later it became a classic movie in the minds of a generation of Japanese.

"Actually, I've always wanted to cooperate with DreamWorks, and although I came to Hong Kong this time for tourism, I still hope to invite Miss Lin Qingxia to Japan to film." Haruki Kadokawa said.

Haruki Kadokawa is a very interesting guy, when he first took over Kadokawa Bookstore, he bought the rights to the original novels of Western movies that were the bestsellers in Japan and distributed them, and as a result, each of them sold well. Then he made a movie of Japanese novels, and the movies were sold and released at the same time, and the result was that both the novels and the movies made a lot of money.

After cementing Kadokawa Pictures' position in the Japanese film industry, Haruki Kadokawa began to collect best-selling books around the world and redistribute them in small formats, which is the so-called "library strategy".

Kadokawa Shoten's library strategy has now been extended to Hong Kong and Taiwan, with "Crayon Shin-chan" and "Ethereal Journey" comics being part of its library strategy.

Haruki Kadokawa himself is also willing to cooperate with China, like Zhang Yimou's "Ju Dou" a few years later, with Kadokawa Pictures' investment in it. (To be continued......) RT